The People v. Terrence Jermaine Ford

THE PEOPLE, PLAINTIFF AND RESPONDENT,v.TERRENCE JERMAINE FORD, DEFENDANT AND APPELLANT.

(Super. Ct. No. 08F01420)

The opinion of the court was delivered by: Butz, J.

P. v. Ford

CA3

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED

California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

A jury found defendant Terrence Jermaine Ford guilty of kidnapping to commit robbery (Pen. Code, § 209, subd. (b)(1)),*fn1 and kidnapping during the commission of a carjacking (§ 209.5, subd. (a)), with true findings that defendant personally used a firearm in the commission of each offense (§ 12022.53, subd. (b)). After the trial court found that defendant had been convicted of a prior strike (§ 667, subds. (b)-(i)) and an additional prior felony (§ 667.5, subd. (b)), it sentenced him to an aggregate state prison term of 14 years to life, plus 12 years.

Defendant appeals, arguing (1) substantial evidence does not support the verdict of kidnapping for robbery in that the robbery was complete before the kidnapping began; (2) the trial court's instructions omitted an essential element of the offense of kidnapping for robbery; and (3) the trial court erred in instructing the jury on how to consider the credibility of a witness. We reject these arguments and shall affirm the judgment.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

On January 1, 2008,*fn2 defendant traveled from the Bay Area to Sacramento by train with his girlfriend, mother, and his mother's husband to visit his sister. Defendant's half brother Frank also visited the family in Sacramento, although he did not travel with the rest of the family. Defendant's family stayed at his sister's home in Sacramento until January 4.

On January 4, Shawn Hanks parked his pickup truck in a parking lot on 6th Street under Highway 50 (less than a mile from defendant's sister's house) and rode his bike the rest of the way into work in downtown Sacramento. Hanks returned to his truck a little after 4:30 in the afternoon. It was a windy, stormy day and few people were out besides city and county employees. The sky was beginning to get dark, but it was still light enough to see.

Hanks placed his bicycle in the bed of the truck and got into the driver's seat. Just then, defendant and another man approached the vehicle. Defendant grabbed the driver's door before Hanks could close it. Hanks told defendant that he did not have any money; defendant replied, "Well, check this out," and pointed a gun at him. Hanks threw his car keys at defendant and jumped down out of the truck. However, defendant prevented Hanks from escaping by trapping him against the door. At this point, Hanks and defendant were face-to-face, with the barrel of the gun touching Hanks's side. When defendant ordered Hanks back into the truck, Hanks replied, "No. I don't have nothing on me. Everything's in my truck." Defendant again ordered Hanks into the truck, telling him to "Get in the back." This time Hanks complied, maneuvering himself into the back seat.

Defendant and his accomplice*fn3 got into the front seats of the truck, with defendant driving. Defendant started the engine but could not make the vehicle move forward. Hanks then instructed him to release the emergency brake. The other man asked Hanks for his phone and wallet; Hanks told him they were in his backpack. The man looked through the backpack but could not find the items, so he turned around and proceeded to pat Hanks down.

While the accomplice was searching for Hanks's phones and wallet, defendant made a U-turn and a left turn into an alley. Once in the alley, the truck began to slow and Hanks decided to try to get out of the vehicle. Just as he was about to open the rear door, one of the men said, "Get out." Hanks jumped out and tried to grab his bicycle out of the bed of the truck, but it pulled away before he could do so. Still inside the truck were Hanks's belongings, including CD's, his wallet, his work and personal cell phones (Nextel and AT&T), tools, and a set of knives. As Hanks ran away, he heard one of the men shout, "Don't call the cops and don't run."

The next week, Hanks's truck was found near the Oakland entrance to the Bay Bridge. When the truck was returned to him, Hanks found items inside that did not belong to him. They included an ...

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